


be you

by Anonymous



Category: Prodigal Son (TV 2019)
Genre: Alcohol, M/M, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-06
Updated: 2020-03-06
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:39:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23044141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: malcolm's nervous about asking someone out, but edrisa is there with a really nice pep-talkwritten as a daily prompt for the brimel discord server
Relationships: Malcolm Bright & Edrisa Tanaka, Malcolm Bright/JT Tarmel
Comments: 2
Kudos: 30
Collections: Anonymous





	be you

The bar he and Edrisa had chosen wasn't the local cop bar - and for good reason. Edrisa never quite felt like she fit in with the other cops, and Malcolm hadn't wanted any of them overhearing their conversation. So they sat with their colorful mixed drinks at a table near the unused dart boards and Malcolm fidgeted more than drank while Edrisa cracked lame jokes and tried to get Malcolm to tell her what was going on without demanding answers. 

Finally Malcolm sighed and Edrisa straightened on her bar stool. She was on drink three while Malcolm was still only halfway through drink number one, but she was determined to give him all her attention and focus. 

"There's this… person," Malcolm hedged, "that I like." Edrisa grinned widely, her glasses slipping down her cheeks because of the movement. She didn't bother to fix them. "And I don't know if they like me back. I think… there might be a chance there? But they're very… stoic. And I'm -" he laughed, too self-deprecating, "I'm not, obviously." 

Edrisa stretched her hand across the table and patted Malcolm's. "Listen. All you can do is be you. No one else can do that. So ask." She shrugged. "The worse they can do is say no, right? And hey, you're already at a bar with a friend! You can drown your sorrows if the worst happens or have a celebratory drink if you get a yes!" She bounced a little and the stool swayed dangerously. 

Malcolm gave her a sideways smile. "You're very good at pep talks."

"I've given quite a lot of them," she said with a sage nod. She waved one hand through the air, but she lost whatever thought she had, so she shrugged again and grinned. "Text him!"

Malcolm cocked an eyebrow at her. She giggled into her drink. "How do you know it's a man?"

She rolled her eyes and drained the last of her glass. "You, Malcolm Bright, are  _ not _ subtle. It's JT!" She flung one arm in the air and startled someone who was passing by, so she apologized quickly. "You're always trying to make up excuses to go with him to crime scenes and stake outs? It's pretty obvious." She noticed Malcolm blushing, and she reached over to squeeze his hand again. "Just ask him?"

Malcolm took a deep breath and murmured something to himself that she didn't quite catch. He had these funny little sayings, sometimes, that he'd repeat like mantras. Maybe it was one of those. She watched him tap away at his phone for a moment, then set it face down on the table between them. He stared at it in silence for a few seconds, then downed the rest of his drink. The moment it buzzed, he froze and refused to touch it. Edrisa rolled her eyes and picked it up for him, tapping the notification banner. 

She glanced up at Malcolm. He looked nervous and pale. Best not drag it out too much, she decided. "He said if he's agreeing to dinner with you, he's picking the place." She grinned widely and handed over the phone as proof. Malcolm took it and stared at it in shock for a moment, then grinned at her, huge and full of white teeth. She giggled again as his thumbs flew across the keypad with his response. 

"You'll have to tell me how it goes," she said, her smile just a little bit smaller. There was a hint of jealousy there, of course. She'd like Malcolm a lot when she first met him. But they were best friends now, and she couldn't imagine giving that up for anything. She was happy for him more than anything, and she supposed that made up for being a little bit jealous. 

"Of course," Malcolm said, pausing in his rapid-fire texting to look up at her. He sent off one more message then put his phone back in his pocket. "Thanks, Edrisa. I… probably wouldn't have asked if you hadn't encouraged me." He gave her a small, sheepish smile, and she felt better. "So! That case with the jellyfish, right?"

"Right!" Edrisa said, bouncing again and excited once more. That had been a  _ hell _ of a case. 


End file.
